Staffordshire County Council’s highways crews have been equipped with bodycams to help protect them from threatening behaviour.
The move follows 76 cases of abuse towards roadworker and vehicles breaching restrictions since the start of this year, according to reports from the local authority’s highways contractor, Amey.
A recent incident involved a crew member being clipped by a car and falling, after which he was subjected to threats from the driver of the vehicle.
Further issues have included an increasing number of drivers taking no notice of ‘road closed’ signs, mounting pavements to push through roadworks, and performing dangerous manoeuvres.
The council has confirmed that its workers have now been given bodycams to wear, as well as using dashcams in vehicles to record abusive or threatening behaviour, with footage being sent to the police for investigation.
Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, emphasised that abuse towards staff ‘will not be tolerated’ and will be reported to the police to see that offenders are held to account.
He commented: ‘While we understand roadworks can be frustrating for motorists there is no excuse for abuse or threatening behaviour. We have had incidents of abuse which not only threatened the safety of staff, but also caused unnecessary delays to schemes.’
‘No-one deserves to be abused at work. The safety of our road crews always comes first’, he added.
